County Ecologist

West Sussex County Council; United States; A distancia; USD 67.000 - 88.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Local government pension scheme

27 days holiday (plus buy extra leaves

Flexible working options

Maternity, paternity, adoption leave

Volunteer opportunities

Employee Discount via West Sussex

Health & wellbeing benefits

Descripción de la vacante

West Sussex County Council is seeking a County Ecologist to lead ecological policy and provide expert advice on biodiversity across planning, infrastructure and corporate projects. You will influence decisions to balance environmental protection with sustainable growth, while supporting statutory biodiversity duties.

You will work with developers, consultants and partner organisations, supervise specialist staff, and contribute to Local Nature Recovery Strategy delivery.

Formación

• Strong ecological and environmental knowledge with ability to analyse complex information, evaluate evidence and provide robust advice.
• Ability to think strategically about planning, development, biodiversity conservation, nature recovery.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills to explain ecological issues to diverse audiences.
• Organise and prioritise workload, manage competing demands and meet deadlines.
• Experience working collaboratively with colleagues, stakeholders and partners, providing guidance and mentoring.
• Membership fees for professional bodies (eg CIEEM) may be relevant to this role.

Responsabilidades

• Provide professional leadership and specialist ecological advice across planning, infrastructure and corporate projects.
• Help ensure environmental considerations are integrated into decision-making across the authority.
• Support determination of planning applications, infrastructure delivery and statutory biodiversity duties.
• Develop policies, projects and initiatives for nature recovery and Biodiversity Net Gain.
• Represent the County Council at meetings and supervise specialist staff where appropriate.
• Travel to sites and meetings across the county, including occasional remote locations.

Conocimientos

Ecology expertise

Biodiversity Net Gain

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder engagement

Leadership

Communication

Descripción del empleo

As the organisation's County Ecologist, you will provide professional leadership and specialist advice on ecology, biodiversity, Biodiversity Net Gain and nature recovery across a diverse portfolio of planning, infrastructure and corporate projects. As the Council's principal ecological adviser, you will help ensure that environmental considerations are effectively integrated into decision-making across the authority. You will provide authoritative ecological advice to the County Council in its roles as County Planning Authority and Highway Authority, supporting the determination of planning applications, infrastructure delivery and the Council's wider statutory responsibilities. Working closely with colleagues, developers, consultants and partner organisations, you will help identify practical solutions that balance environmental protection with sustainable growth and service delivery. The role has an important part to play in supporting the delivery of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy, Biodiversity Net Gain and the Council's statutory biodiversity duties. You will contribute to the development of policies, projects and initiatives that help shape the future management, enhancement and recovery of West Sussex's natural environment. You will represent the County Council at meetings, develop productive relationships with partners and stakeholders, supervise the work of specialist staff where appropriate, and provide professional guidance, mentoring and support across the service. You will work alongside colleagues covering ecology, landscape, arboriculture, archaeology and the historic environment to deliver high-quality professional advice. The role requires travel to sites and meetings across the county, including occasional visits to remote locations and inspections of buildings and structures. You will need to be comfortable working both in an office environment and on site, while maintaining high professional standards and delivering robust, evidence-based advice.

As the successful County Ecologist, you will have extensive ecological knowledge and experience, combined with the ability to apply sound professional judgement to complex issues. You will be a confident communicator, able to work effectively with colleagues, developers, consultants, communities and partner organisations to deliver practical solutions and positive environmental outcomes.

• Strong ecological and environmental expertise, with the ability to analyse complex information, evaluate evidence and provide clear, robust and proportionate professional advice.
• The ability to think strategically, anticipate issues and make informed decisions, particularly in relation to planning and development, biodiversity conservation, Biodiversity Net Gain and nature recovery.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the confidence to represent the County Council's interests and explain complex ecological issues to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
• The ability to organise and prioritise your workload, manage competing demands and meet statutory and organisational deadlines, while maintaining high professional standards.
• Experience of working collaboratively with colleagues, stakeholders and partners, providing support, guidance and mentoring where appropriate.
• Integrity, professionalism and a commitment to delivering a high-quality ecological service. Specific to Planning Services: Payment of relevant professional membership fees eg CIEEM
• an excellent
• local government pension scheme
• generous holiday entitlement of
• 27 days (plus opportunity to buy additional leave)
• a range of flexible working options, depending on your job role
• maternity, paternity, dependency and adoption leave
• volunteering opportunities
• training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
• a range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform (see our
• Staff discounts page if you are a business looking to offer a discount)
• health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and Voluntary Health Cash Plans